Many residents within the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM) still share water with livestock and depend on an unhealthy water source.
Practising hygiene is difficult since they struggle to get clean water and they are worried about the coronavirus because of a water shortage in the area. Some of the community who spoke to Limpopo Mirror said the community needed urgent attention. Residents accused the VDM of neglecting them.
Resident Ms Innocent Shivambu of Bennde Mutale said they could not afford to save any water because of the constant hand washing required to prevent the virus. "Firstly, a lot of people in our area do not understand the use of sanitiser; secondly, we do not have water. We get water at night and in the morning, and the rest of the day there is no water. So, we must conserve the water, it must last us throughout the day for cooking, washing, and bathing. So, now that we must keep on washing our hands, this stresses us even more.
"I came here in the morning to do my laundry. I pushed that wheelbarrow with my washing dish and dirty clothes for 2km," she said. "We also drink this water because we have no choice," she said.
She said that they were afraid that more people would be infected with the deadly coronavirus because they had no water to wash their hands. "I wake up early in the morning, but nothing comes out of the taps. We are suffering in this village and we are now forced to share water with animals in the Mutale river," she said.
"The food we eat is cooked with the water we fetch from the river or fountain, and the water we drink also comes from the same source. I therefore do not see the difference between us and animals."
Ms Rudzani Mutshinya of Sanari said the municipality had been dragging its feet in assisting the communities in the area. "I have to wake up at four to get water from that river." The river she speaks of is also used by the community for their daily baths and laundry. "Our government does not care about us," Mutshinya said.
The VDM spokesperson Matodzi Ralushai said they needed sufficient funds to address the water problems. "We have received water tanks and 136 have already been delivered to the district there. We are still waiting for other tanks to be delivered and an appointed contractor, who is busy installing in identified areas. The alternative is also drilling boreholes and to upgrade boreholes." He said that they were still waiting for other tanks to be delivered.